“I talked to Roy on Monday night,” Cooper said. “He’s starting Friday. That’s all we need to know. There ain’t no need really to fly all the way here (to Florida) for one day to throw, then take a day off and then throw. No. He’s going to throw his side there.”

 Humberto Quintero remained behind in Kissimmee to catch six innings in a minor-league game.

 At Danny Graves’ request, the Astros have given the veteran righthander his release.

 As innings become scarce, the Astros will likely have some of the club’s starters make some minor-league starts in the next week to let Russ Ortiz and Jose Capellan continue facing major-league clubs.